Stainless Steel
by established-fox
Summary: So, Riza would wait, still and silent. Protocol restrained her urge to about face and let the Colonel pleasantly screw with people who were not herself. Riza/Roy One Shot


**Title:** Stainless Steel  
**Fandom:** Fullmetal Alchemist  
**Author:** Established-fox  
**Characters:** Riza, Roy  
**Rating:** PG 13  
**Word count:** 949  
**Spoilers: **None  
**Summary: **So, Riza would wait, still and silent. Protocol restrained her urge to about face and let the Colonel pleasantly screw with people who were not herself.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of these characters. I only dabble.

**Written for: **LJ Comm "15_minute_fic"Word #236

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**Stainless Steel**

The note was neither murky nor unclear. Not much of the plain statement could have been easily swayed towards incomprehension, like a gigantic black splotch of ink on fresh snow. It was unlike Col. Mustang to be so… precise.

As she read the short command, one well kept blonde brow arched.

Riza was instantly suspicious.

Four hours and forty five minutes later, Riza Hawkeye stood outside the Colonel's scuffed brown office door. She ran her fingers down the sides of her uniform, primping and flattening any wayward wrinkles. Subordinates uniforms were to mirror perfection when they were summoned by their superiors.

With a soft exhale of air and her lips pressed into a hard line, Riza twisted the door handle and stepped sharply beyond the threshold. She was determined to be every part the solid solider, strict and professional.

The room was dark and soft, the only window black as the sun had drifted below the horizon. It was late and Riza was not amused. The Coronel had stepped beyond protocol by summoning her to his office this late in the evening.

"Colonel Mustang." She called into the darkness and waited for a response. She did not expect one and was not surprised when none was given. So, Riza would wait, still and silent. Protocol restrained her urge to about face and let the Colonel pleasantly fuck with people who were not herself. Ten minutes passed and her brow slowly furrowed in annoyance. It seemed as if the Colonel was on a mission to freeze her face into that expression.

After eternity had passed, the click of boots echoed behind her.

"Sir, when you said 8:45 I assumed that was an order and not merely a suggestion." She couldn't help the hard edge in her voice.

"Lighten up, Lieutenant Hawkeye." Riza could hear the smirk in his voice. A soft snap echoed through the office and with a gentle swoosh a single candle burst into flame.

She blinked as the soft light eliminated a small table set for two. Flanking the lit candle Riza recognized a serving plate burdened with common mess hall food, bleached and plain.

"It's quite…" Riza searched for an adequate description.

"Romantic?" Mustang suggested.

"…campy, Sir." Riza stated her answer with cool and collected precision.

Mustang chuckled and brushed his way past Hawkeye. The buttons on his uniform shone and not a strand of thread dangled unceremoniously from the seams. Riza swallowed a smile of approval. The man was uncommonly immaculate and he strode with measured steps. The candle flickered as he sat down at the far end of the small table. Once comfortably settled Mustang glanced briefly up at his Lieutenant.

"Sit." It was a command, nothing more and Riza complied with military diligence. Riza nodded a curt thank you before glancing at the food. It seemed the mess hall was serving turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans, the Thursday special. Roy began spooning portions of gray goop carefully onto her plate. "The mess hall employs a particularly charming woman, strong legs. I gave her a hand yesterday and she graciously prepared this fine meal."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Roy nodded without much choice. Riza's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Your boundaries are getting out of hand. "

"I fail to see your point."

"The woman is well into her eighties."

"She had very strong legs." Roy's eyes gleamed and he leaned back. "Regretfully, I was absent from the office today. Please report."

Riza raised an eyebrow. Her reaction was question enough. Roy Mustang was not a man who often dabbled in the day to day going-on's outside his office door. Never the less, she quickly spouted off the small accomplishments of a normal Thursday workday. Mustang listened with one ear as he quietly served himself the remaining food. At the end of her summary, he glanced up and crooked an eye brow.

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Roy picked up his fork.

"No, Sir." Riza waited until her Colonel had taken his first bite before she followed suit.

"Pity." He seemed genuinely sad. The clink of silverware mixed with the soft scent of the candle and they ate in a comfortable silence.

Riza finished the last of her meal heartily before allowing herself to lean softly against the back of her chair. "Thank you, Sir."

Roy smiled and began fishing around his in pockets for what Riza imagined to be far too long. Triumphantly, he held a small multi-tool up to the flickering flame. She smirked, the man enjoyed his flare.

"Lieutenant, the top left drawer in my desk," his black eyes seemed to smolder. "Bring me what you find there."

Straightening her back and letting little of her annoyance shuffle over her expression, Riza pulled herself out of her post dinner slump and crossed to the desk. As she pulled the drawer open its contents sloshed and clinked. A bottle of deep red wine and two slender glasses lay hidden near the back.

Riza hesitated a moment before gathering the contents carefully into her arms and setting them beside Mustang. He wasted no time in removing the cork with a sharp _pop_ and poured a generous amount of deep red liquid between the two glasses.

"Please understand Lieutenant, "He looked up to her with hooded eyes and a smirk, offering a delicate glass. The light from the small candle pooled in the liquid, tempting and velvet. "I expect the contents of this bottle to disappear."

Riza nodded and accepted the offered glass.

Roy took a generous gulp, smiled without consequence, and lifted his glass.

"Happy Birthday, Lieutenant."

Riza smiled into her glass as the wine slid easily down her throat.

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